A minister friend of mine called me recently and asked if, in my position as a high school teacher, I had any names I could give him of potential youth ministers for his church. He was flustered and frustrated. "For the first 30 years of ministry, I had two youth ministers," he said. "Each for 15 years. But in the last two years, I've gone through three different ones."
He then pinpointed the source of his concern: "I've found that many young people, millennials and Gen Z, don't enjoy hard work, and they aren't overly fond of the Bible." I wish I could disagree, but sociological observations, surveys, polling data, all affirm his assessment.
That said, being in class with high schoolers every day has also taught me that things aren't nearly as dire or horrible as we may be inclined to believe. Of course, I've seen the horror stories. I've seen seemingly grounded kids go off to college - even "Christian" colleges - and become radicalized.
But though they may not be the majority, and it may not be the direction the culture is luring them, there are still some amazing young people, with incredibly genuine and generous hearts, that are eager to serve and bless others. We just don't hear about them nearly as often as the loud ones convinced they are rebels, even as they slavishly conform to the spirit of the age.
So I'd like to change that today by telling you about this group of college kids at Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia. As should surprise precisely no one, the college town of Huntington has a popular Starbucks location. The local establishment is staffed by nearly all Marshall students, with the exception of 65-year-old Karen Collinsworth.
Collinsworth, who says she has been in the food service industry for years because she loves serving people and making them happy, has been adopted by her staff of nearly all females as a second mom.
"I talk to her about literally everything," said co-worker, Marshall student Cassie Gray. "She's like my mom when I'm away from home and can't talk to my mom. So it's just like a relief, being able to go in there and talk to her and knowing that she's going to help me work through whatever."
Gray and the other girls who work with Collinsworth returned that favor recently, helping their adopted mom "work through" a difficult situation of her own. Collinsworth's 2004 Kia was having plenty of problems even before the break-ins started six months ago.
Over the course of the last half year, Collinsworth has seen her catalytic converter and a number of interior items stolen, costing her thousands. A couple of the girls started talking in their dorm about trying to help her out. They set up a GoFundMe fundraiser there on the Marshall campus, and despite setting a goal of $10,000 to help pay for repairs, have so far collected four times that amount.
Imagine being Collinsworth. A 65-year-old woman who just loves to serve people food and drinks. You're surrounded by Gen-Z girls obsessed with their on-campus life and all the drama associated with being a twenty-something. You see them drive into work each day with nice, new vehicles their parents bought for them. It would be easy to get a bad attitude and lament your circumstances. Instead, she's loved them, listened to them, trained them, and taught them.
And now? Now, they return the favor. Collinsworth paid cash for her new car.
